Lynley Dodd

Dame Lynley Dodd is a New Zealand children's author and illustrator best known for her Hairy Maclary and Friends series, featuring animals with rhyming names that has sold over five million copies worldwide. Born in Rotorua in 1941, she studied at the Elam School of Fine Arts and began her career illustrating books like My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes in 1973 before creating her own titles from the mid-1970s. She has received numerous awards, including the Margaret Mahy Award in 1999 and designation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009.